My Whole World Is : You
by Sakura leafs
Summary: She will fight to save him . . . With all of what she has got.
1. prologue

**Chapter one**

Sakura hurried through the forest with everything that she has got. she was tired, breathless and nearly out of chakra, but none of that matters; because absolutely no one will stop her from achieving her life goal, and nothing will stand between in her way. She won't let that happen. She will never ever let that happen. Not while she is still alive and breathing.

She leaped from a tree branch to another not caring about the pain that she felt in her legs or the fact that her body was screaming for her to stop and her lungs were in desperate need for a break.

She can't stop, not now, not after everything that she went through, not after all the blood sweat and the freaking tears.

Eleven years she waited for this moment for God dam eleven years and now it's finally here.

Her mind went back to all what she went through in her life, all the pain and suffering, all the death and blood, all what she has lost.

But she can't, no she won't lose him too.

She will never let this happen.

She would rather die than live a single second without him.

No, this won't happen remember you will save him, you won't let him die even if he wanted to, even if hated you for the rest of his life.

She thought back to her plan, her perfect and flawless plan that she spent three months preparing for it.

Three months of making sure that everything will just go the way she wanted this time. No flaws, No holes, and absolutely no room for mistakes.

She will make sure that everything goes according to the plan.

She was so close of achieving her goal in life and nothing was going to stop her.

Nothing at all.

_._._._._._._

Itachi Uchiha smiled at his brother and tabbed his forehead lightly, this was it this was the end, his end. He will finally find the peace that he longed for so much and he prays to the gods that his brother will find peace and maybe even happiness after that. He only had one regret, one regret that he was sure that will haunt him even in his death.

Oh, how he wished that things were different, that he was different.

His regret ran deep in his veins to no end.

He regretted leaving her behind , not being there for her as much as he wanted to.

But most importantly he regretted not telling her how much he loved her, how much he cared deeply about her, and how many times that his love for her was the only motive for him to wake up in the morning, to take another breath, to live.

Will she cry for him ?!

Sure she will she was most likely to be the only one to mourn his death, to remember him.

God, he missed her already.

Her smile, her laughter, everything about her.

He just hoped that he would be able to see her at the end, one last time.

Guess he wasn't even allowed to have this much.

" I hope that you will find it in your heart to forgive me one day Akari . " He whispered before giving up to a long and eternal sleep.

The last image in his head was the sight of her bright smiling and the last sound that he heard was the sound of her vibrant laughter echoing in his head.

At least he will die with happy thoughts in mind he faintly smiled.

_._._._._._._

' Oh God, don't let me lose him. '

' let me just be in time this time, just this time. '

' let me save him. '

' Don't take him away from me. '

' I already lost everything that I have ever known. He is the only thing that I have left. '

' Not him. '

' please not him. '

And finally she saw him blooded and beaten, tiered and nearly at the brink of death.

He was tabbing Sasuke's forehead with all the tenderness and the care in the whole world smiling at him the most beautiful smile that she had ever seen in her life.

Then he fell.

And her heart fell with him.

Tears burst out from her eyes, the same very tears that she tried very hard to hold them back all this years, the same very tears that she refused to spill them no matter how much she tried, no matter how much she wanted to, and no matter how much she suffered.

And like something snapped in her she screamed with everything she has got.

" Itachi , NO. "

And the next thing she knew she was slamming her hand in Sasuke's chest with a paralysis jutsu.

Before she kneels down instantly beside Itachi and put his head in her lab with a hand and checking his pulse with the other one.

' thank God he still has a pulse. '

She gave Sasuke a final look to make sure that the paralysis jutsu has worked just fine and even though she spent a good amount of time to modify and enhance the just specially for him, putting all of her medical knowledge into consideration. However she has to be sure that the jutsu actually worked after all this is the Uchiha Sasuke.

And with him you can never be sure of anything.

She sighed then focused her full attention on Itachi.

She must save him.

She activated the seal in her arm then she started working on him quickly pushing her chakra in his body identifying his severe wounds and healing them. His wounds were fatal and his condition and weak body didn't help her either.

But she must heal him.

She will heal him.

She was in a deep trance nearly for five minutes before she felt Sasuke's chakra spikes behind her. He was now finally out of his surprise and he was trying to break from the jutsu.

She glanced at him without lifting her hands from Itachi as she said " don't bother Sasuke, this jutsu is specifically made for you and only you. you will not be able to break free till I say so. "

To say Sasuke was surprised would be the understatement of the whole freaking century and she might have been interested to see that in some point but sure she wasn't interested in that right now.

She worked with all of the determination in the world. She healed every wound carefully pulling chakra from her seal after all that was the main purpose of this particular seal in the first place.

She only cried and prayed for the gods that his weak body would hold enough for her to get him exactly where he wanted.

Then all of a sudden his heart gave up.

" Oh , No. "

She pushed her chakra into his heart over and over again.

But nothing happened.

Tears started to fill her eyes once again as she tried harder to stimulate the heart.

No, she won't give up.

She refuses to give up on him.

She pushed her chakra and focused not only on his heart but in all his circulatory system using every ounce of chakra in the seal.

Then she felt it his heart started to beat again and her whole body sighed with relief.

' thank goodness. '

But she needed another evidence just for her heart to make sure.

" Itachi, open your eyes. "

" Itachi please open your eyes. "

At first Itachi thought that it was a dream a beautiful and peaceful dream where her chakra went through his very being pushing him to live with all of what she has got .

Then he heard her voice pleading him to open his eyes.

' No this is too good to be true ' he sighed.

Then he felt a trembling hand touch his checks and he felt her hot breath on his face as she begged him to open his eyes.

' this indeed is so good to be true but his imagination how vivid it was, wasn't this vivid. '

His eyes opened slowly to find her looking at him with all the hope, happiness and, dare he say with all the love in the whole world and this exact look went through his very being shocking him from the roots.

Then she smiled at him and his whole world suddenly let up like thousands of fireworks.

Guess fate wasn't actually as cruel as he thought and after all he would get to see her smile one last time .

He looked as her chakra worked tentatively healing every wound carefully.

He can't let her spell her last chakra in him however good and peaceful it felt like to have it run through him.

He touched her check tenderly and smiled warmly at her.

Oh seeing her right now was an ultimate bless.

" Give it up Akari, there is nothing that you can do. "

Sakura's tears spilled more as she said.

" No, I can heal you. " He voice was full of Hope that he actually wanted to believe her.

God, How bad he wanted to believe her?!

He brushed her tears away, he hated seeing her cry.

" I hope this was the case Akari, but what I have no one can cure it, not even you.

Let me finally rest Akari will you?!

I spent far too much in this agony that I simply want to rest. "

Her tears and cries increased and she breathed harshly before telling him between her sops " won't you try a little more . . . For me ?! "

Foolish girl can't she understand that his love for her and his little brother is what kept him going up till now ?!

" Even if I tried Akari, even if I tried.

My body won't take it anymore.

And even if you healed me now. I will eventually die within tow or three days. A week maximum. "

" Let me go Akari, let me find peace. "

" No one can save me. "

She was done healing him and now she held his face in her balms as she looked at him fiercely and said " Uchiha Itachi , don't you ever tell me to let you go.

Because I will never ever let go of you.

I will fight for you till the day I die and with the last breath I have left. "

" Even if you told me not to, and even if you gave up on yourself a thousand times.

I won't give up on you. " Her words was so determinate and her eyes was shining with a light that put the sun to shame and he for one more time remembered why she was given the name Akari.

She was the light in his darkness and the brightness that lit his whole world up.

But he needed to make her understand that there is nothing she can do to save him, not from this.

" Akari, you don't understand. "

Her eyes filled with emotions that he couldn't identify.

Was that hurt in her eyes?!

" Did you really think that I don't understand Itachi ?!

I always thought that out of all the people around me you were the one that had the most faith in me and my abilities as a ninja specially as a medic.

Did you really thought that after all of this time that I won't figure out what was wrong with you ?! "

" It pained me so much to see you hide this from me.

After all of this time. "

God, he really should have seen this coming. And he suddenly felt her hurt and understood the pain in her eyes.

He just didn't want her to spend the time they spent together worrying about him when there was nothing that she can do.

No one can do anything.

" I can . " As if she read his thoughts.

He looked at her with disbelief in his eyes.

" I can save you. "

" No scratch that, I will save you. "

He tried to talk but she performed hand seal and the last thing that he heard was.

" Sleep now Itachi, but please hang in there, will you?!

And fight with all of what you have got. if not for you. Then fight for me. Will you?! "

_._._._._._._

When Hatake kakashi and Naruto Uzumaki woke up this morning this was so not what they had in mind a Cheetah summon popped out of nowhere to tell them that ' lady sakura ' needed them right now.

When the hell did sakura got a Cheetah summon ?!

Scratch that where the hell had she been for the last month ?!

Obviously he needed her in order to answer these questions . So he and Naruto followed silently.

Dam, this summon was fast like really fast.

And when they got there this was so very not what he expected.

What the hell was that ?!

_._._._._._._

When sakura felt the tow chakras approaching she didn't help but smile and add a mental note to braise moriko for completing her mission.

Now part two of her plan must put into motion right now.

So she quickly activated the other seal in her shoulder to give her the chakra needed to do what she is about to do, put the papers that she used to enhance the teleportation jutsu that she is about to use because this wasn't by no means a short distance to teleport, not at all.

Then moriko appeared before her.

Good girl.

The moment kakashi and Naruto appeared sakura looked at them smiled then said " Hi kakashi-sensei, Naruto, missed me ?! "

Their shock could have never been clearer.

She glanced at Sasuke then looked at them and said " He is all yours now guys. "

Then she smiled softly " please take good care of him for me till I get back. I trust you guys with all of my heart and I really hope that our trust is mutual. "

Then she performed the hand seals and just like that she was gone.

_._._._._._._

 _" My name is Sakura Haruno. I like reading and learning medical ninjutsu. I hate being helpless and not be able to help my precious people. My dream is to save the person that means the most to me in the whole world. "_

_._._._._._._

Hope that you liked it.

Are you interested enough to continue reading?!

I personally hope so.

And please review, will you ?

Because I really need guidance here.

So guide me and help me to enhance my skills in writing please.

Till next chapter.


	2. From the very beginning

**Chapter Two**

Itachi Uchiha really ' really ' hated the situation that he was in right now. He was sick, exhausted, chakra depleted and well . . . . more importantly (( LOST)), and NO, he was not ' lost in his thoughts ' or ' lost in the road of life ' like his senpai often said but he was literally lost, and extremely and utterly pissed.

He looked around him for the hundredth time this hour trying to find anything familiar, to recognize anything, but failed ( what a surprise indeed! ).

He was still in Iwa _ at least that much was obvious_ basically because all he could see was rocks and rocks and oh surprise ! . . . . More rocks.

It was afternoon now and the heat was becoming more and more unbearable.

Every second in this heat painfully reminded him of his severe need for water ,and every step he took adverted him that his body will not withstand the lack of nutrition any longer.

After all it has been seven days since he got lost in this peculiar area that he has no idea how he got into in the first place. And to make things more complicated in these seven days he never ever came across not even one animal or one source of water.

But this was just the top of the iceberg; because in no means should this area even so much exist in the first place, that much he was certain of.

For seven days he tried to analyze what exactly is this place running his mind over and over, studying every possible angle and trying to come up with a solid theory, without any progress.

He ran his hands through his ' less than a good condition ' hair ( well ... Great. ) in utter frustration, and tried to run his mind over the facts one more time.

First there is no map or scroll that he came in contact with ever mentioned this hell hole ( He couldn't come up with anything more fitting. ), taking into consideration that he was an Uchiha so there is no way that something like ' this ' could ever slip his mind, more like his eyes _ even if he wanted to _, and also the fact that some of these maps and scrolls varied in time from many years ago till recently, and some of them once belonged to really higher ups in Iwa; so probably no one knew about this place even the people of Iwa until now at least, which is nearly impossible by the way; because this place is awfully near to the borders.

Second that in all of his seven days he never ever came across any other living being, no ants, no lizards ... nothing. He didn't even encounter a fly or a mosquito, even though after he tried to extend the little chakra he had left to sense anything but him . Unfortunately for him he was already pretty ragged up from his mission, and didn't exactly have much chakra. But between that and staying in Iwa he preferred to cross the borders first after all Iwa and Konoha weren't really best buddies ( Guess that turned out to be a very bad decision in the end. ) .

And last but not least even though this was plain obvious that this is an Iwa territory there was something clearly off about the geography in here; because even with theses keen eyes of his and with his sharingan activated all of the roads looked the same, completely identical; the rocks were the same shape, height and size and no matter which road he took nothing changed at all like he was going forward and in the same time standing still he even tried to mark the rocks but he never came across the same rock again, never again.

He even went to the extent of assuming that he was stuck in some kind of gengetsu but he quickly discarded the idea; he was a gengetsu master and a sharingan wielder not to mention that he went through every possible way to dispel a gengetsu even going to the extent of stabbing himself in the arm with a kunai but nothing happened, so this have to be real.

His body was starting to give rather quickly, his skin started to burn like crazy, his breathing became rather difficult, he was sweating and panting quite painfully , and his mouth was so dry that it hurt.

Seven days, seven long days with barely no water or food or proper sleep; he was too agitated and alarmed for something like that.

He was going insane, and his cool dominator was wearing off rather quickly for his liking .

He looked for a place suitable enough to take shelter from the burning sun, and maybe rest a little. So he sat against a rock long enough to shade him and flinched a little at the burning sensation in his back.

He was rabidly running out of options, he had no way of getting out of here, hell he had no idea what is here in the first place and he really doubts that his body could stand the strain much longer.

Itachi was losing hope and he felt really helpless for the first time since very long.

He thought back to his family back home, his brother that he loved more than life itself, oh he missed him so much, he whished that he had the chance to spend more time with him. His mother, his sweet ... sweet mother that always made the hard times less harder. His father also came to his mind and even though he and his father were very different in almost everything he respected his father and looked up to him.

Finally he though of konoha, his precious home, the reason that he was here in the first place, in a mission for konoha, but he has no regrets; because he will always be loyal to his home, and he will always do whatever it takes to keep it safe.

His vision was starting to get blurry, and he finally gave up to a deep sleep.

_._._._._._._

The first thing that he noticed when he started to gain consciousness _ and even though his mind was still pretty foggy _ was that there was definitely something else out there with him, more precisely there was someone else out there, and this someone was getting very very close to his liking.

His hand quickly traveled to his kunai pouch and in a split of a second he was ready to attack, but he neglected the small fact that he doesn't really have the energy to actually move an inch more let alone launch an attack on this person.

He pretended to stay asleep till he felt something getting near his face and he was fully prepared to die a quick death, but what he really didn't anticipate was what happened the very next moment.

A small hand touched his forehead hesitantly at first before it rested there, then he heard a small sigh of relief.

Then the hand left his forehead before he heard a cloth being dipped in the water, then picked up, squeezed, and he felt a cool cloth against his forehead first, then his checks, chin, and neck.

The cool water in this hell of a weather was a total bless.

He felt this person getting too close for his personal comfort before a soft breath touched his face.

" Ano, shinobi-san, it's okay to open your eyes right now. " Her voice was so soft and faint and took him completely off guard ( How could this person tell that he wasn't actually asleep! By the way this was a very hard thing, considering his abilities. ) so his eyes shot open and his onyx eyes was greeted with the most green eyes he had ever seen in his entire life, two pools of green and deep ocean stared back at him with curiosity, a little fear, but what struck him completely was the sheer amazement and fascination that he never seen in his life.

Sure he was considered a prodigy and a genius in his own village, he was also viewed and looked at with different looks by different people, mostly admiration, envy and fear, specially fear. He even had a fan club and a lot of fan girls too. But this look was different, completely different in so many ways.

Then the next thing that happened almost render him speechless because this little girl's eyes brighten more, like that is even possible ! and without moving she said " WOW !You are very very beautiful. "

For a second they started at each other, then she seemed to realize what she had just said, her whole face became bright red, and she went completely silent.

Then she also seemed to realize how close they really were, so she went back to her sitting position in front of him and straightened her back.

He didn't speak at all and kept observing her quietly.

The first thing he noticed about her was pink, she had pink hair ! She was the first one with it that he had ever seen in his life. Also he noticed that she was very small and young, probably the same age as his brother. She looked so innocent that it struck something very deep in him.

God, sometimes he forgot that he was supposed to be young and in innocent too ( At least he whished that was the case. ) He was only eleven years old after all, which meant that she is approximately six years old give or take a year.

She continued talking with the same enthusiasm " I mean I have never seen anyone with black hair and eyes before in my entire life. your hair is so pretty and looks like black silk and your eyes are so black and deep. I really have never seen anything this beautiful. "

She looked confused for a second then said " you are even more beautiful than Ryuu -kun. "

She suddenly stopped and put her hands on her mouth, though for a moment, then got completely serious and said like she was warning him " but you should never till him that. "

" Because Ryuu-kun is the best. " She said while smiling.

Itachi really didn't have any idea what to say and after a moment of silence he finally said.

" Ano, Do you have any idea where I am ?! "

She suddenly seemed to remember something then she looked so worried and said " shinobi-san you really shouldn't be here. It's too dangerous for you here."

" Where is here ? " Itachi demanded.

She quickly averted her eyes the stuttered " Unfortunately I . . . I can't tell you this shinobi-san "

She didn't look him in the eyes for sometime.

Itachi sighed heavily then said " can you at least tell me how much time I was out. " He was already getting frustrated.

" I really don't know but I found you here three days ago. "

Then her checks redden a little " I tried to move you a little but I couldn't so I just put a blanket on you. "

Itachi looked at himself the first time he just really noticed the blanket.

" You were very feverish." She looked sad and compassionate.

" But don't worry shinobi-san you are fine now, I promise. " she said.

" I made you my mother's special recipe for regaining health you should be fine now. "

" You must feel drained because you just woke up put I promise that you will be fine soon. An hour maximum. "

She chewed in her lower lips and whispered " I might not be as good as my mom was but I assure you it will work. "

He didn't miss the ' was ' but he choose not to comment on it.

" Shinobi-san " she didn't talk until itachi looked at her.

" Promise me that you will leave as soon as become well. " Itachi didn't say anything, but he didn't fail to notice the change in her tone.

" Please, please promise. " She clasped her hands in a pleading gesture.

" I don't know how. " He murmured under his breath.

" Don't worry about this shinobi-san. " She smiled, then said " I brought you this. "

She got something out of the bag and handed to him.

He took it and studied it carefully. It was a necklace, a very simple black necklace with a three metal circles in it.

" Please put this on this is supposed to guide you to the exit and to the person who made it. "

She averted her eyes away " I made it myself so it might not be to your liking. You can throw it after you get out of here . It will stop working anyway. " She shook her hands in assurance.

It was a while before she talked again " I will stay with you until you get well enough, then I will start walking away and after half an hour you should start moving. "

He didn't help but to think about this weird kid, one moment she was acting very like her age, the other she was way serious like she all grown up.

She extended one of her hands to him, he looked at her hand perplexed at first, then he looked at her and she was encouraging him to extend his he extended his hands carefully so she took his hand in hers and looked straight into his eyes.

" Promise me. " Again with the serious tone, but he also noticed the hint of superiority in her voice, and he got slightly irritated.

" On one condition. "

" Huh, what? "

" Tell me about this place. " he demanded.

She sighed then moved to sit beside him instead of in front of him.

" I guess this is fine, you won't remember anything about it anyway. "

He was about to ask what did she meant by that, but she continued

" All what you will remember that you got lost. Not where. " She explained.

She sighed deeply then continued" This, like my father said a protective certain, it's supposed to protect us, with any way possible, from evil people . . . And by evil people he means shinobi. " She said then looked at him straight into the eyes.

" Then . . . Why ?! " He was really confused now.

She brought her knees resting her chin on them to her chest and rapped her arms around her legs.

" I really have no idea. ". . . " This ... This was never suppose to happen. " She looked more confused than him.

It felt like hours before she spoke again " My mom always used to tell me that not all shinobi are bad people, she told me that people always fear what they don't understand. That's why my father fears shinobi, because he just doesn't understand, and clearly doesn't want to. She also told me that different isn't always bad. It's just ... Well different. "

He suddenly felt sorry for the girl, she is just a little kid, but she now looked like a grown up.

" Are you going to hurt me shinobi-san ? "

" No. " ( Where did she got that though? )

" Then mom was right. " She smiled, a real and soft smile.

" How did you find me ?! " He was curious.

" I don't know I just did. "

" But again mother always knew when people, always civilian people, are in the belt. I guess I'm just like my mother. "He voice was full of love yet sadness.

They didn't talk again for at least half an hour, Itachi could feel his chakra and power coming back quickly.( Well this recipe whatever it was, was clearly working. )

Half an hour later he was feeling really good.

He tried to use his chakra but failed. ( What the hell! )

" You can't use your shinobi magic in here. "

How did she sensed that ?! he couldn't understand, especially because there was nothing special about her chakra she was just like any civilian, but again she was just a kid.

But he sensed a very strange thing about her chakra, but no matter how many times he tried, he couldn't identify it. Combine that with the fact that she was the only one who found him, and sensed his chakra. This sure is a new puzzle.

But she seemed too reluctant to talk about a lot of things, and he didn't want to pressure her for answers.

He was, even if it wasn't obvious, very grateful for her help, she practically saved his life, and for that he was thankful.

She stood up then gave him a small bag " you will find a water can and some onigiri and bento in here. " she handed him the bag the waved he hand and said.

" Good bye shinobi-san I hope that you find your way back home. "

He hesitated for a second before speaking slowly " thank you. "

" You are welcome shinobi-san " she grinned .

" Itachi. "

She looked confused for a second before smiling.

" Nice to meet you Itachi-san my name is Akari. "

He didn't help but smile too " nice meeting you too Akari. "

"Good bye Itachi-san. "

_._._._._._._

Itachi waited for half an hour before starting to move, but before he started moving he put the necklace that Akari gave him, and as soon as he put it, he felt a jolt of chakra in his body, and he felt a strong but a fast electric current in his head before a small but bright thread of a blue and clear chakra appeared before his eyes and he just knew that he should follow it. He didn't help but look back to find another thread fading slowly where Akari disappeared.

Then he looked in front of him and followed the thread.

Two hours later Itachi felt a very dark chakra approaching where Akari headed, and it was approaching very fast.

He didn't know why put he felt that something really bad was about to happen, and somehow he felt that he had to stop it, no matter what.

So, he turned around and all what he thought about was that he had to get to her, and he had to do that fast, suddenly the fading thread from earlier appeared and it's color was as red as blood. ( Well that looks very bad. )

So he decided to followed the thread running as fast as he could.

_._._._._._._

Well, I hope that you liked it.

Till next chapter.


	3. betrayed

**Chapter three**

For the first time in a very very long time kakashi Hatake felt confusion and uncertainty take over his mind.

Well . . . Who wouldn't ?!

Because although they were a fair distance from what was happening right now, and unlike Naruto he _ as soon as they exited the forest _ had immediately activated his sharingan.

He was now looking at his student ... No, scratch that, he was looking at his protégé, the same protégé that he saw so much of himself in him, the same protégé who he tried so hard to do things right with him. But fate was always quite harsh towards him and as always he missed is up ... BIG TIME .

Because that said protégé defected the village at the age of thirteen in order to seek power ( a power that he thought that he couldn't get while staying in his home village. ) Seeking this power from a pedophile freak who by the way attacked that said home, killed the third Hokage and most importantly still wanted to take over his body. And him kakashi Hatake his supposed ' mentor ' couldn't do anything to prevent that.

Yes, he really missed it all up.

And now after three long years seeing that student made all the unwanted feelings of failure, depression, and his guilt for letting down the only students that he ever took, came back and punched him right in his face.

Because no matter how hard he tried, and no matter how many missions he took, he was never able to let go of these feelings, or the pain, and hurt that came with them.

Now here he was about to face that same student, and he truly had no idea what he supposed to say nor what to do.

But this wasn't even the worst part !

Because apparently he must had done something in one of his previous lives or in this life to make kami hate him, to really really hate him.

Because at least he understood all about Sasuke's situation, or at least he liked to think so.

But what truly knocked his socks off was seeing Sakura there with them ! Because no matter how many times he tried to imagined a situation with Sasuke and his older brother in it, Sakura didn't quite fit in this situation at least not like that; because in every imaginary situation he could come up with, he imagined her fighting along them against that ' evil brother ' to try and kill him and finally getting her teammate and dear friend back. He also imagined her healing them after that said battle, and smiling at them after successfully defeating the ' evil ' , 'S-class criminal ' , ' unstable ' ,and last but not least the ' Akatsuki member ' who was assigned to capture her other best friend and teammate Naruto.

Never and he means never in his wildest nightmares did he thought that the Sakura that he knew ( the same Sakura who was loyal to her village and her friends ) would attack her teammate and friend with a paralyzing jutsu in order to save the older brother. Never in his life did he thought that he would see the day when the same sakura who he knew crying ( because that girl never cried over anything, or anyone not even herself. And no matter how much pain, or sadness she felt she never shed a tear, and she always had a big smile on her face. ) , and of all the people it had to be ' The UCHIHA FREAKING ITACHI ' the same man that killed one of her best friend and teammates' entire family and tried to capture and kill her other best friend and teammate.

Not only was she probably done healing him, more like done stabilizing him; because when he was near enough to recognize the man that Sakura was crying over, he could see that Itachi's condition didn't look good. But also she had gone and disappeared with him using a freaking teleportation jutsu ( when and where the hell did she learn a long distance teleportation jutsu?! ).

Many questions ran through his head, questions that he had no idea what so ever about their answers.

And the first question was : why did Sakura leave Konoha two months ago and disappear without a trace right after they got the news about orochimaro's death by the hands of Sasuke ?!

Because at first they all though that Sakura was on a solo mission, but after a month without any news about her they started to get worried; because Sakura always told them when she took any mission longer than one month. So they went to the Hokage and asked her about that. The Hokage looked surprised and confused

(( " Huh, what are you talking about ?! I thought Sakura told you ! "

" Told us about what ?! " He replied not able to hide the confusion in his voice.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and now starting to get confused herself then said " That she is in indefinite leave. "

" Whaaaaaat ? " Naruto shouted.

" Sakura-chan didn't say anything about that! "

" Shut up dickless. " Sai said.

Naruto was about to shout again when Tsunade interrupted and she was starting to get worried herself and sighed then said " I don't know Naruto. She just barged into my office demanding an indefinite leave of absence and when I refused because of the current situation she threatened to resign from her duty as a Konoha shinobi. "

This was Kakashi's time to look slightly surprised " what ?! " Sakura was not the kind of person to say something like that.

Tsunade continued " I was actually still reluctant to refuse but she told me that it was a life of death situation. "

They all now looked worried.

Why would she take a leave without telling any of them even going to the length of making sure that the four of them were out of the village when she left ?

And if it was a life or death situation, why hadn't she tell anyone of them and hide it from them ?!

" I ... I don't understand ?!

Why Sakura-chan would hide all of this from us ?! " Naruto said looking confused for a moment the his confusion was replaced by worry then he suddenly said" baa-chan we must go and search for Sakura-chan she might be hurt or worse. We must help... "

" Shut up baka. I let her go with a condition that she would send a weakly message with one of the slugs to assure that she was fine, and her last message just arrived two days ago. She said that she was fine and to not worry, and she asked about you, and I assured her that you all were fine. " Tsunade interrupted.

" I still don't know why she didn't tell you though ?! " She looked confused.

" But baa-chan I want to go and search for her. " Naruto whined.

" Naruto don't. You can't do that. " Kakashi told him.

" But kaka-sansei aren't you worried ?!

She didn't even tell us anything.

What if something happened ?! "

Kakashi was confused about that but he told himself that he should respect her decision.

" Naruto, she must had a reason for this.

We must respect her decision. "

Naruto was about to argue when shizune opened the door " Tsunade-sama an ANBU team wants to report back. "

" Ok, shizune give me a second. "

She then looked at them " you may go now. "

And she continued fast " But I will make sure to rely your message with the slug next time. Come on go . " And after that the message came and she apologized to them telling them not to worry and to trust her. ))

_._._._._._._

As soon as they had stopped and the Cheetah immediately went to Sakura's side Naruto Uzumaki didn't believe his eyes because here in front of him stood his teammate ... His Best Friend. The same friend that he and Sakura-chan sworn to get back, his long last brother, and well ... Rival.

But what also caught his eyes the fact that Sakura-chan was there too, and she was crying! ( Sakura-chan had never cried before. She always made life easier for all of them with her big bright smile and cheerful personality. ) And she was crying over someone too, but as soon as they arrived, and before he even had the chance to take a good look at the man she was already looking at them.

sakura looked at them, smiled then said " Hi kakashi-sensei, Naruto, missed me ?! "

He wanted to tell her yes, he had missed her so much. But also he wanted to ask her many questions like : where had she been ? ... How did she manage to cross paths with the teme ? ... Why is the teme clearly under a paralysing jutsu ? ... And who the hell was that man?!

But before he could say anything, she glanced at Sasuke then looked at them and said " He is all yours right now guys. "

Then she smiled softly " please take good care of him for me till I get back. I trust you guys and I really hope that our trust in mutual. "

Then she performed the hand seals and just like that she was already gone.

_._._._._._._

The road to konoha was very very dead silent. No one uttered a freaking single word. Everyone of them was in his own world. Even Naruto was very baffled to run that big mouth of his. At first they waited for about an hour until the effect of the jutsu faded, and in this hour he ran his big mouth. He trashed the teme. He cussed, cursed, and huffed. He promised the teme to beat him to a pulp. But the thing is no one seemed to hear him, no one even seemed to notice; both kakashi and Sasuke seemed in their own world ( Sasuke didn't lift his eyes from the ground where Sakura-chan and the mysterious man were. ) , Speaking of which Sakura-chan was the only one who always told him to shut up, and kept him in pay. And Sakura-chan was gone with some man in a very suspicious circumstances. So he and for the first time decided to stay silent, and observe to other two.

And after the effect of the jutsu was completely gone, the teme didn't utter a single word. He just looked at kakashi for one second then kakashi started to move towards konoha in utter silence. And Sasuke never showed any kind of resistance. He just followed silently. But even this didn't surprise him that much; because the only thing that he could think about in that moment was the look that Sasuke gave to Kakashi. Because Sasuke didn't look sorry. He didn't look in pain although he wasn't exactly in a good shape. He didn't even look like his usual indifferent self.

The look in Sasuke's eyes were an odd mixture between someone who was furious . Someone who was in a great emotional pain. Someone who was shaken to the roots.

But the most important and visible emotion in his eyes belonged to someone who got completely and utterly . . .

.

.

.

BETRAYED.

_._._._._._._

 _" Are you Sasuke Uchiha ?! "_

 _He was just walking back home minding his own business and staying far away from fan girls, when she just appeared out of nowhere._

 _She was the most colorful girl he had ever seen... pink hair, bright green eyes and red dress !_

 _He was about to brush her off. But for some reason she looked so serious and his curiosity got the better of him._

 _So he replied carefully "yes."_

 _Then she smiled a very bright and vibrant smile, and said " good. "_

 _Then she took a very deep breath and said " my name is Sakura Haruno. I'm six years old. "_

 _The her smile got wider ( like something like that is even possible! )_

 _Then said "can we be friends ? "_

 _And from that day on Sakura Haruno would always find him and spend time with him everyday._

 _Whether he liked it or not._

 _She would always talk about her day, herself or about something that she had read in some book._

 _And surprisingly, he started to find that he actually didn't mind her presence that much._

 _And in a very very rare times, he even looked forward to meeting her. ( With a hard stress on the " rare " word. )_

 _Somehow Sakura Haruno became a constant part in his life._

_._._._._._._

(Eleven years ago)

When Itachi Uchiha decided to follow the faint thread of chakra, he had a really bad feeling about it. But there was something strange about the whole situation. Something that told him that he should make sure that this little girl is fine and well. Something in this little girl struck very deep in his heart. Maybe because she reminded him too much of his little brother?! . . . No, it's not only that. There is definitely something else, something more. There was something that was very raw and pure about her. It touched him in a very primal level. And this rarely happened, actually the only people that ignited something similar was his mother, his cousin and his brother only.

So, Why her ?!

After a long while, he started to sense her, and he couldn't help but sigh in relief, she was fine ( At least for now. ).

So why he was still worried ?!

He decided to see her, just to make sure.

After a couple of minutes he finally reached her and what he saw made him stop in his track.

There she was standing drenched in blood and her hair was dripping from blood. And her eyes, her emerald green eyes shone brighter than ever.

But what stopped him was the look in them. Her eyes were ice cold, dare he say, her eyes were dead. But behind this hard exterior, her eyes looked so sad, so hurt, and so so lonely.

The tears were flowing from them like there was no tomorrow.

He started to walk towards her, and for the first time since a very long time, he had no idea what to do. So, he did something he doesn't usually do, he engulfed her in her arms, and let her cry everything out.

He had no idea what happened, but somehow he knew that he was too late, and that something really really bad had already happened.

She cried non stop for a long time and he just held her as she clutched her ANBU vest so tight and every now and then she spoke some incoherent sentences.

He could make some words like ' all gone ' ' all alone ' 'Ryo-kun ' ' Otousan '.

He felt like he just wanted to take her pain away, to protect her.

This little kid, this kid who reminded him of the innocence and the purity that he craved, but was deprived from.

It wasn't fair for her. Just like it wasn't fair for him to go through this, to suffer like that.

This thoughts made the sparks of determination ignite within him.

Just because he had suffered it didn't mean that she had to suffer too.

She ( Unlike him ) still had a chance.

He will make sure of that.

Then after she finally calmed down, she didn't utter a word. She just freed herself from his hold and started to walk in the way that he came from.

She looked aimless and lost, even though she was walking towards the exit from this hell.

He followed her silently, then he made something that he never did with someone he barely knew.

He took her hands in his and walked towards the exit.

Towards Konoha.

He will make sure that she will be fine, that she will have a nice home and a good life.

IN KONOHA.

_._._._._._._

First : So what do you think ?!

Second : I want to rant a little... Ok maybe a lot.

In my humble opinion Itachi Uchiha is the best and the most complicated male character. Not only that but he was also a very well written character with depth and contradictions.

God, I just love him so so much.

And given the fact that I almost read every itasaku fanfiction out there.

And I must say that I'm not always happy about the way that some of them

portray Itachi like someone who is cool, closed, and indifferent. All the time.

Because he is not.

He is someone who understands emotions more than anyone else. He understands love, hurt, sadness and pain.

All Uchihas do.

They understand how important this emotions are. So they guard their heart and appear calm and collective.

But when they love, they love with all of thier heart, and they can do anything for the people they love the most.

So they will be very affectionate with thier loved ones especially Itachi. ( Look what he did for Sasuke and before the massacre he always took care of him, showered him with love and cried for him when he thought of the pain that he might go through. )

So My Itachi will be very affectionate with Sakura and he will pamper her to no end.

Also as you can see he is a very compassionate , kind hearted, selfless and pure person.

What can I say ?!

I'M COMPLETELY IN LOVE.


	4. choices

**C** **hapter four**

We watched as the sun sank slowly beneath the horizon, painting the sky different shades of Orange, Red, and pink.  
' what a mesmerizing scene indeed! ' I have always loved watching the sunset since I was a little kid. Not only because of its beauty that you can never get enough with, but also because of all of the significant meanings that the sunset bore within it.  
At first glance, the sunset highlighted the end of another day. A day that I fought and survived, A day that I was able to protect what I have always held dear to my heart and what I have always believed in and still . . . kept standing. But if anyone gave the sunset a good look, he or she would be able to see it in a whole new light. Because like the sunset remarked the end of another day it also promised the birth of a new one. A new day, a promise of another chance to fight, to protect, and to survive.

Every end is nothing but a new beginning. And Every beginning is a silent promise of a new chance.  
I looked at the little girl that clutched my hand tight like a drowning man clutching a piece of log, so desperately, yet he can't prevent himself from hoping.  
' What happened to her?! ' I think I will never know. it had been a few hours since I took her out of that hell hole, the blood that had been once drenching from her was now dry leaving her hair and clothes in a total mess.  
' I must buy her something to wear soon. ' I noted before quickly turning my focus back to her because that was not what I worried about right now. actually, there was something that was far worse than this to worry about at the moment.  
She looked different, I couldn't point out how exactly, I mean I have just met her a few hours ago. But nonetheless, there was something very wrong about her whole demeanor that bothered me greatly. This was not the cheerful, emotional, and happy-go-lucky girl that I met or even the girl that cried rivers in my arms. This one was so calm and focused like nothing had ever happened, her eyes were stone cold and even if I tried to read behind those eyes I couldn't, simply because there was nothing to read, no sadness, no grief, no emotions at all.  
how on earth did a six-year-old kid manage to shut down her emotions completely like that?

It was like she was a completely different person.  
It was getting dark very fast now and he was determined to find a village with an inn to spend the night because under no circumstances could he let her sleep in the open with her current condition.  
He now could recognize his surrounding, and he knew that they were now at the borders of Iwa, but most importantly he knew that there was a village only an hour walk from here. So he led them slowly towards that village.

_._._._._._._

They were now about to enter the village and he deemed necessary that he should use a gengetsu to change both of their appearances because honestly both of them looked very suspicious.  
He called her " Akari. " She didn't seem to hear him at all, so he called her again and it was only after a few times that she finally replied with a shaky, hesitant, and a very faint " yes. " He could feel that she was in a haze.  
" Listen to me carefully. Now I'm going to perform what you called the shinobi magic so I do not want you to feel afraid because this shinobi magic is about to change both of our appearances. Do you understand ?! "  
She nodded her head slowly then said " a gengetsu !? "  
He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and she seemed to notice because she continued quickly. " I read all about shinobi and their magic in the library. "  
He kept his brow raised ( because a couple of hours ago she didn't seem to have any idea about shinobis and now all of a sudden she knows quite a lot ?! )  
She now looked like she is way out of her trance as she looked at him with her cheeks slightly flushed and her hands moving everywhere as she tried to explain.  
" Actually I didn't have many friends. More like I didn't have any friends but one ( Ryuu- Kun he assumed. ) So I kind of had a lot of time in my hands. And since I like reading, I always went to the library to pass time. " She looked embarrassed while looking to the ground and shifting her weight from one leg to another.  
He couldn't help but wonder how her mood changes from one minute to another.  
But another thing also caught his attention and that was the ' did ' in her talk and the way that she swallowed and lowered her eyes when she talked.  
He was curious to find out what exactly happened to her but thought that he didn't want to pressure her and she had just got something of what he thought her normal self back after a few hours of her complete shut down from the world.  
But he couldn't help himself from coming up with his own theory about her.  
Probably she grew up in a village with a people that didn't like shinobi at all ( like her father. ) or had a few encounters with them and viewed them neutrally ( like her mother. ) and finally there must have been at least a few shinobis in this village but apparently got sick from the shinobi's life or tried to hide themselves ( because Akari never said in her explanation that she actually saw any shinobi but only read about them. ) and were pretty strong to create that so called belt around and they had to be a very private people to create this belt in the first place.  
He also doubted that these people have a special kekkei Genkai ( Not likely. ) or a forbidden jutsu that he is not familiar with. And they used it in order to protect themselves.  
Also, the fact that Akari could find her way in this belt and was able to make this necklace that she gave him which was probably a way to prevent the people of the village from suffering what he suffered.  
Adding that her mother used to make these ( And now Akari is able to make them. ) could indicate that her mother was definitely a shinobi or at least she had been at some point in her life and had something to do with the belt. Also after he inspected Akari's chakra he was beginning to believe more in the forbidden jutsu theory because there was absolutely nothing special about her chakra ( Unlike people with Kekkei Genkai, even children, and newborns. ) also because Akari sensed him when he tried to use chakra and knew about gengetsu but didn't seem to know much about the belt ( the forbidden jutsu. ).  
Another thing also kept bothering him greatly and that was how Akari was afraid to tell him anything about this village. Was this because her father hated shinobis? Or was it something else ?! he was sure that it is the something else option. These people seemed very private yet very skilled to use such an old ( because he had never heard of it before. )and powerful ( because this is his first time witnessing a jutsu _ probably a gengetsu_ that can trick a full Sharingan before. ) So these people actually never used this power in any documented fight or war, always kept to themselves and had forbidden their own people from telling anything. Were they running from something ?!  
Did that something finally caught up with them ?!  
The chakra he felt was actually very dark and very strong and with all that blood.

Did a massacre took place in there ?!  
were all the people in this village killed or only her family ?!  
Does that mean that Akari might be in danger ?!  
That made him more determined to take her back to Konoha with him because Iwa was not a child friendly place; their ruler was ruthless, their economy wasn't the best and should Akari decided to be a civilian she most likely would not survive in earth country as a civilian with no family and nowhere to go.

So the problem right now was that the relationship between Konoha and Iwa which was far from good in a matter of fact.  
So that left him with the question of How was he supposed to get her into Konoha undetected? because let's face it under no circumstances would Akari be allowed to stay in Konoha, because if her presence was Konoha is official he would be forced to share everything that has happened to him plus his suspicious about her which will probably make that sorry excuse of a counsel reject any thought of her staying in Konoha, plus her official stay will probably draw suspicion towards her and more people will know that she is from Iwa and that alone will get her hated ( All people in Konoha, specially shinobis, hated anything that was remotely related to Iwa. ) And the people in Konoha hating her was a very bad thing. After all the Kyuubi jinchuriki was a living example of how cruel people could be when they projected their hatred on something. although he somehow understood he could never find it in himself to accept it.  
People may fear what they don't understand and they have always refused anything different but treating a child like this was simply outrageous.

_._._._._._._

A now a young man with a chocolate brown hair and eyes with his six-year-old little sister with the same hair color and eyes, they wore standard civilian clothes and entered the small inn quietly without drawing the attention of any curious eyes.  
" What can I help you with, young man ?! " The old innkeeper said in a kind voice.  
" Please, sir I would like to book a room with two beds. For one night.  
Do you happen to have an available room?! " The young man asked politely.  
" I have what you need young man. That will be 40 yen for the night. " The young man handed the innkeeper the money and took the key from him.  
" Room 17. "  
" I would like to ask you another question.  
Do you happen to know whether there is a restaurant and a clothes shop that are still open now?! "  
The man nodded " yeah, the shops around here should be open for a couple of hours more. No worries. "  
" Thank you. "  
The girl never left the young man's hand till they reached the room.  
The moment he closed the door he released the gengetsu and sat on the bed with her.  
She was very silent again exactly from the moment that they set foot inside the village. She didn't seem very comfortable around people at all she clutched his hand even more and she seemed more withdrawn.  
He prepared to leave in order to get some food and clothes.  
He was about to open the doorknob when he heard a faint and shaky " Please don't go."  
He turned around to see silent tears falling from her eyes and she refused to look at him.  
" I know that you must go, and I also know that I couldn't possibly ask anything from you. You already helped me very much and you were so kind. " She paused for a moment to wipe her tears. " But I don't think that this small village has an orphanage in it or anyone that could take me in. So could you please take me to a larger village with an orphanage or at least a place that can take me in. I promise that I'll try not to be any burden. " He was actually surprised by her words.  
' what was she talking about?! '  
" Akari, what exactly do you mean?! "  
She looked at him and she looked totally broken and very exhausted like she was just tired of everything.  
" I'm no stupid Itachi-san, I'm actually very smart for my own age, and I read a lot. " She now looked irritated and there was a challenge in her eyes that screamed ' Don't treat me like I'm a child. ' she actually looked very adorable just like Sasuke and he suddenly felt the urge to smile.  
She continued " I know that we are now in earth country which means Iwa shinobis. You Itachi-san are a Konoha shinobi judging by the symbol on your headband. "  
" I also read some history books and I know that Iwa and Konoha always had a bad relationship. So you must be here on a mission, which probably ended. So you will be going back soon. "  
He could see that she was getting desperate when she took a deep breath then continued " I have never left my home before and now I have nowhere to go back to so I need to find somewhere to stay and an orphanage is my only option right now. "  
He listened to her as she talked and didn't try to interrupt her but when she finished he walked towards her and stopped right in front of her. He was strangely amused by her conclusions she was indeed very mature for her own age.  
He decided to go along with her so he smiled a small smile then said " correct me if I'm wrong but you actually think that I will leave you in here and go back to Konoha! "  
A pair of eyes full of surprise " well of course, why on Earth would you help me more ?! You already have helped me more than enough. " She started to count the things that he did for her " first you actually talked to me and listen to what I said in the belt second you came back for me as soon as you felt that something was wrong when you could have just left me. third, you took care of me when I cried like a baby, led me to the nearest village and booked me a room. "  
" Finally you are about to get me food and clothes then leave or maybe you will wait until morning and then leave. "  
Then she started to play with the hem of her shirt and looked down to the floor then sighed in defeat " I know that you are a very good man to show such kindness towards a little girl that you just met, but even your kindness must have its limits "  
Then she looked him straight in the eyes then said " put please l doubt that this small village could have an orphanage so could you please take me to a village with an orphanage ?! "  
He stared back at her for a few seconds then said " No. " Which made he flinch visibly and lower he eyes back to the floor " oh . . . OK "  
Then she looked at him with a sad smile " I understand Itachi-san. I'm still thankful to you for your kindness. "  
" I do not believe in fate or destiny. Rather I believe in choices. Every person is actually a number of choices that he made. And it does not matter that sometimes you have to discard your personal feelings in order to make the right choice. " he started to talk in a firm voice. " I really understand Itachi-san. "  
He continued like he didn't hear her " But I also do not believe in coincidences. I believe that everything happens for a reason. And given enough reasons, you must do what you believe is right no matter what. "  
" Huh. " The surprise on her face was was hilarious which made him smile  
" You saved my life. You helped me when clearly you were afraid. "  
" I know that I have just met you, but I do not like to be in Dept to anyone so a life for a life. "  
" You are going to go back with me to Konoha. " And with that, he marched towards the door leaving a surprised little girl behind him.  
Because he knew that she was just a six-year-old kid no matter how much she tried to act smart and mature. A little girl that is lost and confused with nowhere to go.  
He also saw a bit of himself in her, just a little girl who was forced to grow up and act as an adult way before she was supposed to. She had to make choices that she wasn't supposed to make in the first place.  
Just like him.

Because sometimes in the middle of the war, the blood and all of these missions, he sometimes forgot that he was just an eleven-year-old kid that who was forced to make hard choices since he was four.  
But unlike him, she still has a chance, a chance to have a different life, a better one.  
He will make sure of that.

_._._._._._._

hi, everyone, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter.

I would like to apologize for not updating sooner, final exams and all.

also, I would like to hint that this is a very important chapter by the way. There is a lot of hidden signs that you will probably miss.

but feel free to guess and tell me of course.

And for the people that actually reviewed before THANK YOU VERY MUCH. please continue reading I promise that I won't disappoint you.

finally please note that English is not my first language so I APOLOGIZE in advance for any grammatical mistakes.

Until next time.

P.S please review and follow because I really want to know your opinion and thoughts about the story.


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